Sound Viewpoint about Wealth

Below is the story I promised to give you illustration for this message last Lord's day. She is around 30 years old lady.
It's the email from her.

The story of my ticket:

All my bills go out at the first of the month. and there was this pending charge of a $350 traffic ticket I received from my accident. If i did't get these tickets dropped, the only way I could've afforded this ticket would've been to skip my 10% tithe that month. But my mom's forever seared onto my heart the idea that my money is not mine. That the 10% isn't me giving God a tenth of my money. "God's giving you 9 and only keeping 1 for Himself," she'd always say.

So I tithed at the beginning of the month before any bills went out. And I came to the courthouse with $32 in my checking account. The prosecutor called my name, we stood before the judge. He looked at me and then to her and said, "the police officer sent an email and said to see the attached evidence, but it seems he forgot to attach anything. I have no evidence against Ms. Kim's infractions your Honor." The judge smiled and said, "Wow, ok. You are free to go, Ms. Kim." I didn't have to pay the $350, and nothing went on my record.

The prosecutor kindly commented, "you're lucky." I'm pretty sure it's not luck... it's the Lord's promise. God asks us to give Him up-front, off the top. Not after we've calculated out all the bills. And dares us to see if His promises are true.

The story of my job:

When I applied for this retail job, I told the hiring manager that I couldn't work Sundays. She said every employee was required to work weekends, but because she found favor with me, she said I could have every Sunday off if I was willing to work every Friday and Saturday. It was our deal for the next 3 years. We recently had a complete makeover in management, and my oral contract with the prior shop manager was overlooked: for the first time, I was scheduled to work on a Sunday. The new hiring manager explained that she wanted to be fair. "Sundays aren't just a hot commodity for Christians." Non-believers also enjoyed Sundays off. She made a good point. I never wanted to give off the impression to my coworkers that I was privileged. Our love for Jesus and commitment to His church should promote Him, not privilege us. I love my job. But my priority has been ministry. My mom says we'll always have moments that innocently ask us to compromise parts of our faith. Sometimes with purity, sometimes with a stance, sometimes with our commitment to the Sabbath. So I gave my 2 weeks notice without any job to move onto.

Two days later I had an interview with Amazon, and 2 hours later they called to offer me the position as a contractor, doing a job I didn't really enjoy, but it was still a paying job. I assumed that THIS was God's provision. It wasn't. Because a few seconds after I was celebrating with my mom, I got a message from Wing Yew Lum. He was my boss 10 years ago at Expedia, and we'd been FB friends ever since. He'd often read my testimonies I'd share on FB, and apparently liked my writing style. Currently the Head of Marketing at Amazon, he asked for a chance to recruit me before I accepted the contract role. "I think it fails to utilize your skill. You're a brilliant writer." He offered me a 2-part role. First, as the Associate Director of Content for projects contracted through Amazon. And second, I'd be writing children's books to share the gospel. With compensation that was at the top end of my desired salary.

Missing church on Sundays is a tiny offense with little to no consequence compared to Do Not Murder or Do Not Commit Adultery. So I think it speaks volumes to God when we make those small things a big deal. Because He knows it’s motivated out of affection, not fear. If you prioritize God, your benchmark of success will be cast higher and wider than you'd ever pitch for yourself. And the way you witness it all unfold will make for a great story one day. Because when the Lord makes you successful, it glorifies Him while blessing you and your neighbors.